More than 2,500 Starlink internet kits in and around suspected scam hotspots in Myanmar have been shut down by Elon Musk’s company SpaceX. SpaceX’s VP of business operations, Lauren Dreyer, wrote: “We proactively identified and disabled over 2,500 Starlink Kits in the vicinity of suspected ‘scam centers.’ We are committed to ensuring the service remains a force for good and sustains trust worldwide: both connecting the unconnected and detecting and preventing misuse by bad actors.”
Why is this important? Because criminals can more easily conduct online scams in remote locations thanks to high-speed satellite internet.
According to local reports, the Myanmar military recently raided KK Park, a significant location in Kayin State near Myawaddy, seizing 30 Starlink terminals and imprisoning close to 2,200 people. The issue transcends national boundaries, entangling China, Thailand, and even Cambodia. It also has a connection to the flow of money through cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and to major problems like human trafficking and cybercrime, which the FBI team works to prevent.
What SpaceX did about this
Starlink uses tiny satellite dishes that communicate with SpaceX satellites to deliver internet to remote locations. That’s fantastic for unserviced villages, clinics, and schools. However, earlier images supposedly showed satellite dishes on scam compounds along the Thailand-Myanmar border, where criminals were allegedly conducting international online fraud.
SpaceX intervened for this reason. Disabling those kits is intended to keep the network useful for everyday users and make it more difficult to abuse.
The crackdown followed the military’s advance on KK Park, a notorious online scam complex in Myanmar. They detained thousands in Kayin State and seized dozens of Starlink terminals, according to a state outlet.
Cybercrime operations have increased and parts of Myanmar have been virtually lawless since the military takeover in 2021. Many of the employees of these scam centers are trafficked, lured in with false job offers from other nations, and then coerced into deceiving people online with fictitious romances or “investment” schemes.
A regional problem with global money trails
Since their own citizens have been trafficked into these compounds, neighboring nations have pushed for action. In response to pressure from China and Thailand, the Myanmar junta launched a massive operation in February and freed hundreds of workers, occasionally even working with ethnic armed groups. However, the problem extends beyond a single raid.
The same pattern can be seen in Cambodia, where U.S. authorities recently charged a business leader for allegedly being involved in a massive cryptocurrency scam and confiscated over $14 billion in bitcoin. A company linked to these schemes was also sanctioned and designated a transnational criminal organization by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.K.
The scope is enormous: according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, scams connected to Southeast Asia cost Americans at least $10 billion last year, a 66% increase from the previous year.
Cutting signals is helpful, but it’s not a magic bullet
Turning off 2,500 Starlink kits shows how a tech company like SpaceX can act swiftly when its instruments are abused. It also demonstrates the importance of surveillance: in countries like Myanmar, where KK Park operated in Kayin State, combating cybercrime means dealing with the technological, financial, and human costs—particularly for victims of human trafficking who ended up trapped in these compounds.
Cooperation across borders can be beneficial. The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s financial pressure against bitcoin-based money laundering can also have this kind of impact.
Don’t believe strangers who promise quick profits on the internet. Scammers frequently use romance, urgency, or “guaranteed returns” to con people into making real investments, which take time. The first line of defense is being cautious with links, messages, and payments, but governments and businesses can cut connections and track the money.